


Grandpa Fiddleford

by KittyKatBella



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bisexual Character, Dipper and Mabel aren't Pines, Fiddleford and Dipper Bonding, Fiddleford and Mabel Bonding, Grandpa Fiddleford, M/M, My Own AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-01-07 00:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12222192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKatBella/pseuds/KittyKatBella
Summary: Dipper and Mabel McGucket have to live with their grandfather for the summer while their parents aren't in town. They think that it's just going to be a normal summer, but they soon discover that the town they grew up in is stranger than it always appeared.





	1. Summer Cabin in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ravenclaw-At-Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Ravenclaw-At-Heart).



> Heyo everyone! So this is an AU I came up with where Fiddleford is Dipper and Mabel's grandpa. (My friend Ravenclaw-At-Heart has already done some fanart for it on Wattpad) There is, of course, Fiddauthor, although it doesn't show up till later.
> 
> The major differences are Ford went through the portal during the first test run instead of Fidds, Fiddleford is the twins' grandpa, the Mystery Shack never came to be, and much more.

"But Pa-!"

"No buts," Tate grunted, clicking his suitcase shut. "I don' want the two'a y'all to stay here alone all summer."

"We'll be fine!" Dipper protested. "Why do we have'ta spend the summer with our grandpa? We barely know him!"

"Dipper, I ain't arguin' 'bout this no more," Tate responded. "Now go finish packin'."

Dipper pouted and left the room, making his way to his and his sister's shared room. He flopped down on his bed, kicking at a pile of dirty clothes.

"What's wron', Dipstick?" Mabel asked, currently covering her suitcase in glitter glue designs.

"Oh, nothin'. Just that we have ta uproot our lives to spend the summer in some crummy cabin in the woods with our grandpa that we barely know."

"Aw, Ah'm sure it won' be that bad!" Mabel gigged. Dipper sighed and finished shoving his things in his bag, glaring at Mabel when she approached it with a tube of glitter glue.

"Alright, alright!" Mabel backed off, tossing the tube into her bag, likely spilling its contents all over her stuff. "All ready ta go!"

She skipped out to the car, followed slowly by her twin. They fit their bags into the trunk and climbed into the backseat, buckling in their seat belts. Their parents sat up front and did the same before Tate drove off.

It was a short ride to the cabin in the woods. Once the car pulled to a stop, the twins grabbed their bags and went up to the front door with their dad. The cabin looked so old that Dipper began to hope that maybe there would be a ghost or two.

Tate knocked on the door and it was answered by his dad.

"Oh, howdy Tate," Fiddleford smiled.

"Hey Pa," Tate greeted. "Here are the twins."

"Howdy lil' ones," Fiddleford grinned at the twins.

"Hi!" Mabel waved excitedly and pulled a giant sweater out of her bag. "Ah made ya a sweater! Ah didn' know what size ya were, so Ah made it extra big!"

"Oh!" Fiddleford giggled and took the sweater. "Thank ya, little lady. You must be Mabel."

"Ah sure am!" Mabel beamed. "An' this is my nerdy brother, Dipper!"

She wrapped an arm around her twin, pulling him to her side. He smiled sheepishly and waved slightly.

"Well come on in, you two," Fiddleford moved inside to let them enter the house. They did so and he turned back to Tate. "Don' worry Tate, they'll be perfectly safe. Bella's been super excited fer them ta spend the summer."

"Thanks fer watchin' them, Pa," Tate nodded.

"Ain't a problem," Fiddleford waved it off. "Hope y'all have fun."

"You too," Tate replied, walking back to the car and driving off. "Tell Aunt Bella I say hi!"

Fiddleford closed and locked the front door before following the twins into the living room. They were looking around and the small machines and piles of mechanic parts that filled the room.

"Did you build all this?" Dipper asked.

"Sure did!" Fiddleford smiled proudly, showing off a golden tooth.

"Woah..." The younger twin looked around in awe.

"So who's Bella?" Mabel asked. "Is she yer sister?"

"Mm, close," Fiddleford chuckled. "She's been ma best frien' since we were youngin's. She out book shoppin' right now, but she should be back soon. But until then, why don' y'all get settled in? Ah have yer room in the attic all set up."

Mabel cheered and pulled Dipper with her up the stairs to the attic, where they found a pair of twin-sized beds on either side of the room.

"I call the one on the right!" Mabel shouted, tossing her bag on said bed. Dipper looked around the room as he walked over to his bed, which was already occupied. He jumped backwards.

"An' there's a raccoon on my bed," he spoke. The raccoon woke up, chittered, and jumped off the bed, leaving the room. "...is that supposed to be here?"

"Ah dunno," Mabel shrugged, taping posters to the wall. "Ask Grandpa."

A few minutes later, Fiddleford appeared in the doorway. He was wearing the sweater Mabel had made him. The sleeves were rolled up multiple times and overall it looked way too big for the man.

"Y'all settlin' in alright?" He asked.

"Yep!" Mabel grinned. "Check out my splinters!" She showed off her splinter-filled hands, then eyed the sweater. "Hm, that really is big. Ah can make another one!"

"Oh, it ain't necessary-"

"A'course it is!" Mabel waved him off. "An' it's a pleasure!"

"Er- Grandpa?" Dipper spoke up. "There was a raccoon up here-"

"Oh yeah, that's Rebecca," Fiddleford smiled. "She's ma pet."

"...you have a pet raccoon?" Dipper asked, confused.

"Why does everyone think it's so strange?" Fiddleford asked, setting his hands on his hips. "Really!"

Dipper was about to speak, but closed his mouth and shook his head. From downstairs they heard the front door open and close.

"Fidds! Where are ya?! I hit a jackpot!"

"In the attic!" Fiddleford called back. "The twins're here!"

"Oh!" The voice yelled. The sound of two bags hitting the floor was followed by excited footsteps. A woman that looked to be the same age as Fiddleford appeared and gasped. "Hi! Aw, Ah missed yer arrival. Damn it."

"Bella, no swearin' 'round the kidlets," Fiddleford scolded.

The lady grimaced.

"Fine," she huffed and smiled at the twins. "Hi. I'm yer... what's a grandparent's sibling called?"

"Great aunt?" Dipper supplied.

"Yes! That's it," the woman nodded. "Great Aunt Bella. And yer... I can' remember names very well."

"Ah'm Mabel, an' this is Dipper!" Mabel introduced.

"Ok! I... will try to remember," Bella giggled.

"Aw, Ah wish Ah had known ta make ya a sweater!" Mabel pouted. "I'll do yers first!"

"She made me one," Fiddleford chuckled, showing off his oversized sweater. Bella looked at it and laughed.

"While Ah've always thought that oversized sweaters look cute on ya Fidds, that one... doesn'," she said. She looked at Mabel. "No offence."

"Nah, I agree," Mabel shrugged.

"Well y'all get finished unpackin' an' then we'll have some lunch," Fiddleford said, leaving with Bella.

"This summer is gonna be awesome, Ah can tell," Mabel beamed happily.


	2. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiddleford teaches Mabel to play the banjo, and he also plays a game of Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons with Dipper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably mention that most of these short one-shot chapters aren't in order.

"Alrigh', now put yer fingers here-"

"Like this, Grandpa Fidds?" Mabel asked, placing her fingers on the spots.

"That's right," Fiddleford smiled. "Move yer pinkie down a bit." Mabel did so. "Good! Now jus' do what Ah do."

He played slowly, and Mabel looked back and forth between his fingers and her own, copying his movements.

"There ya go!" Fiddleford grinned proudly. "Yer doin' good!"

"Really?!" Mabel asked excitedly, beaming.

"Hey, better than Ah could ever do," Bella chuckled, watching the two of them from across the room. "Ah couldn' remember how ta play fer the life'a me."

"I bet ya played great," Mabel responded.

"No, Ah really didn'."

"No, she really didn'."

Fiddleford and Bella looked at each other and laughed.

"Besides, playing instruments ain't really my thin'," Bella continued. "That's all Fidds."

"It takes a certain hand-eye coordination that Bella claims she don' have," Fiddleford said. "An' that's how we fit. She's creative, an' Ah'm more..."

"Technical?" Bella offered. "You like buildin' stuff."

"Sure," Fiddleford chuckled.

"Could you play for me again, Grandpa?" Mabel asked sweetly. " _Pleaaaaase?_ "

"Hehe, a'course, sunshine," Fiddleford nodded and began playing quickly. Mabel and Bella sat and listened, with Bella leaning back in her chair. When Fiddleford finished the short song, the two girls clapped for him.

"Man, Ah really don' understan' how he didn' like the banjo," Bella laughed. "It's awesome!"

"Aw shucks," Fiddleford giggled. "Thank ya kindly."

"Who didn' like the banjo?" Mabel asked. Fiddleford glanced at her and the smiled slid from his face.

"Just... an ex'a mine, sweetie," he answered quietly. "Ain't no one ta worry about."

"Aw! What happened to y'all?" Mabel asked, leaning over to hug her grandpa.

"Oh, nothin' _happened_ ta us," Fiddleford responded slowly. "He... he died. Awhile back. Lab accident."

Mabel gasped.

"Awww, that's so sad!" She cried, squeezing Fiddleford tighter.

"Heh, it's alright, junebug," he chuckled sadly, petting her hair. 

"Do ya miss him?"

"...miss him? A'course Ah miss him," Fiddleford murmured. "A whole lot. But... Ah'm alright, sunshine. Really."

"Hm. Ok," Mabel squinted suspiciously.

"Why don' ya stay here an' practice fer awhile?" Fiddleford suggested. "Ah'll get lunch started."

"Ok!" Mabel grinned.

\-----

"Ok, y'all reach the edge'a the forest," Fiddleford narrates. "There's two clear path, one on the left an' one on the right. Which path do ya wanna take?

"Well, Ah've always been a fan'a the right way," Bella joked. Fiddleford snickered while Dipper groaned.

"Graunty Bella!" He complained.

"Come on, that was good!" Bella argued playfully. Dipper shook his head and turned back to the game.

"Well I'm thinkin'a goin' left," he said. "We've had pretty good luck with that so far."

"Trust me Dipper, Fidds has been trickin' me with that fer as long as we've been playing," Bella glared over at Fiddleford, who smiled innocently.

"What?" He asked. 

"...We go right."

"Alright," Fiddleford hummed. "Ya go on the right path. Yer both walkin' along til a river blocks the path, an' it looks far too dangerous ta cross."

"Let me guess- some kind of water monster? An' it ain't even the correct way?"

Fiddleford looked at his papers.

"Yes an' yes," he answered.

"God damn it!" Bella grinned and clapped her hands once. "You love doin' that to me, dontcha?"

"Hehe, yer reaction is pretty funny," Fiddleford chuckled. Dipper snickered.

"Well no problem- we'll just go back the way we came," he said.

"Alright," Fiddleford nodded. "Y'all go back along the path to the edge'a the forest. Ya wanna try the left path this time?"

"Yup," Dipper nodded. Fiddleford looked at his papers before continuing to narrate.


	3. The Journal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel finds a spooky old journal in the house, and she and Dipper decide to ask their grandfather about it.

"Come on! Grandpa Fidds has ta have _somethin'_ Ah can use ta make art!"

Mabel sighed as she dug through the cabinets, searching for anything she could use to work on her project. Glitter, construction paper, glue, anything!

"Hm?" She opened a drawer and pulled out an old book. It looked like it was older than her, even. The maroon cover was beginning to tear off, and dust coated the top of it. She blew on the dust, coughing as it filled the room. "Ooh! Pretty!"

The cover had a gold cutout of a six-fingered hand, which reflected the lights around her. She began flipping through the pages, noting the strange monsters and creatures sketched into them. This was something Dipper would enjoy!

"Hey, Dipstick!" Mabel burst into their shared attic room. "Check this out!"

"What is it?" Dipper looked up from his _Weird_ magazine.

"It's this spooky-lookin' book," Mabel said, handing it over. "It's real cool!"

"Hm..." Dipper opened the book. " _It's hard ta believe_ _it's_ _been six years since Ah began studyin'_ _the_ _strange an'_ _wondrous_ _secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon._ " He flipped through the pages. "What _is_ all this?"

"Ah never knew Gravity Falls was this weird," Mabel spoke, reading over her brother's shoulder.

"Me neither," Dipper agreed. "That's strange..." He flipped back and forth between a page filled with drawings and a blank page. "The pages stop after this entry. January 17th. Ah wonder why?"

"Maybe the person writin' it left," Mabel guessed.

"Without writin' anythin'?" Dipper asked. "An' why wouldn't he take his journal?"

Mabel shrugged.

"Why don' we show Grandpa Fidds?" She suggested. "Maybe he'll know!"

"Yeah, ok," Dipper nodded. The two of them went downstairs, where Fiddleford and Bella were getting home from the grocery store.

"Ah got Zebra Cakes!" Bella annoucned excitedly, holding up four boxes of the treat.

"Yummy!" Mabel beamed.

"Grandpa Fidds, can we ask ya somethin'?" Dipper asked, holding the journal to his chest.

"A'course ya can," Fiddleford allowed, setting the last few bags on the floor. "What is it?"

"Well, Mabel found this journal," Dipper began, handing the book over, "an' we were wonderin' about it."

Fiddleford's eyes widened slightly as he looked at it. Bella bit at her nails, frowning slightly.

"...where'd ya fin' this?" Fiddleford asked softly.

"In a cabinet!" Mabel answered cheerfully. "Do ya know who wrote it? And where he disappeared to?"

"N-no, Ah don'," Fiddleford answered nervously. "Ya foun' this in a cabinet?"

"Mm-hm!" Mabel confirmed. Fiddleford nodded slowly.

"...Y'all wanna keep it?"

"Really?" The twins asked in surprise.

"Really," Fiddleford repeated. He kneeled down in front of them, holding out the journal. "This journal is extremely important, but if y'all are gonna stay here, you should take it. This part'a the woods can get dangerous, an' Ah want ya ta be prepared."

"Oh. O-ok," Dipper nodded, taking the book from his grandfather. "Thanks, Grandpa Fidds."

"Ain't a problem," Fiddleford smiled and stood up. "Now you two help put groceries away, alrigh'?"

"You got it, Grandpa Fidds!" Mabel grinned, bouncing forward to help.

\-----

Dipper and Mabel entered the house after a long day, which had ended with them fighting gnomes and left a mess.

"Woah, what happened ta y'all?" Fiddleford frowned in concern. "Yer both a mess!"

"We're fine," Dipper shook the leaves out of his hair. "We fought a gnome hoard, Grandpa Fidds! They were posin' as Mabel's boyfriend!"

"They wanted ta marry me but we tricked 'em an' used a leaf-blower ta defeat 'em!" Mabel finished excitedly. Fiddleford and Bella chuckled.

"Oh boy, gnomes huh?" Fiddleford asked. "We've dealt with those guys before. A leaf-blower, huh? That's smart!"

Dipper smiled proudly.

"Hey Dipper, where'd yer hat go?" Bella asked.

"A gnome ate it," the boy shrugged sadly.

"Ya want another one?" Bella offered. "Ah think Ah have one layin' around."

"Sure! Thanks, Graunty Bella," Dipper smiled again. Bella left the room and soon returned, setting a blue and white hat on Dipper's head. He looked in a mirror, noting the blue pine tree on the front. "Perfect!"

\-----

Dipper and Mabel were in their room. Mabel was bouncing around in her bed while Dipper wrote in the journal.

_Mabel and I fought an army of REAL gnomes that were posing as her boyfriend- it was terrifying but amazing!_

_Finally back safe and sound from one of the_ _weirdest_ _days of my life. I_ _can't_ _believe_ _I've_ _lived in this town my whole life and never_ _noticed_ _what goes on here!_

_Grandpa_ _Fiddleford_ _said that it gets dangerous in this part of the woods. I wonder_ _what_ _else is hidden around here? This is Dipper McGucket, three-time Gravity Middle School Spelling Bee finalist,_ _signing_ _off for the night._

"Hey Mabel, can ya get the light?"


	4. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah yeah sshshshshhs I know it's been a year, shut up and take the fluff

Fiddleford grunted as he slammed into the ground as gravity suddenly turned back on. He pushed himself up and adjusted his glasses, looking up at the wreck of the portal. A figure stood in front of it.

"What- who-?" Dipper rubbed the side of his head. "Grandpa Fidds, who _is_ that?"

"The author'a the journals," Fiddleford said. The figure pulled back his goggles and scarf, revealing his face; he looked in absolute shock. "My boyfrien'."

"Fiddleford?" The figure spoke. Said man quickly stood up, running and jumping to hug him around the neck. "O-oh my gosh! Fiddleford! I-I thought I'd never see you again-"

"What, like Ah'd ever give up tryin'a get'cha back?" Fiddleford sniffed, pulling back a bit and grinning.

"Grandpa Fidds, what's goin' on?" Mabel spoke up. "Who's that?"

"You have kids?" The man looked up, shocked again.

"Oh, right," Fiddleford turned back to the others, still holding onto the man's hand. "Stanf'rd, this here's my family. Guys, this is... Stanford."

* * *

"...I never thought I'd be back here."

Fiddleford glanced over at Ford, who was sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled softly, setting a mug of hot chocolate in front of him.

"Ah was tellin' the truth, back there," he said, sitting across the table. "Ah was never gonna give up 'til Ah got'cha back. Ah love ya."

"...Fiddleford, are we- are we still dating?" Ford asked.

"...Gosh, A-Ah was hopin' so," Fiddleford glanced away. "A-Ah still love ya- never really stopped."

"No, me too!" Ford agreed quickly. "I just- I always sort of thought you'd... you'd move on."

"Ah couldn't," Fiddleford shook his head. "Not while y'were still trapped in that... that place."

Ford grinned a bit, reaching over to hold Fiddleford's hand. He smiled back and squeezed Ford's hand.

"So... you have grandkids?"


End file.
